Imaging the geometrical structure of the H2+ molecular ion by high-order above-threshold ionization in an intense laser field

Using a frequency-domain theory, we demonstrate that an angle-resolved high-order above-threshold ionization (HATI) spectrum carries three pieces of important information: the fingerprint of the molecular wave function in the direct above-threshold-ionization amplitude, the geometrical structure of the molecule in the potential scattering between two plane waves, and the interaction between the ionized electron and the laser field, manifested in a phase factor associated with laser-assisted collisions. As a result all main interference features in the HATI spectrum can be physically explained. As an application it is pointed out that the skeleton structure of a molecule can be better imaged using lasers of higher frequencies.